The Russian leader has criticized the nature of the Internet, fueling fears of a possible web breakup.
Putin’s remarks echo those of several other countries including Germany and Brazil who have expressed concerns over the revelations of whistleblower Edward Snowden regarding the extent to which the NSA had been infiltrating and monitoring high profile web services.
Now fears have been raised that these revelations could lead to a breakup of the web with countries opting to set up their own state-run networks. At a recent conference in St Petersburg Putin maintained that while Russia does have services in operation to monitor criminals online it does not engage in mass surveillance. “We don’t have as much money as they do in the US,” he said.
Critics argue that Snowden, who leaked thousands of documents detailing the US government’s surveillance programs, may have inadvertently put in motion a series of events that could eventually put an end to the free, global Internet that we know and enjoy today.
Source: The Guardian
